On Wed 22 Jun 2005 09:19:39p, Daisy wrote in rec.food.cooking:
> On 23 Jun 2005 05:46:09 +0200, Wayne Boatwright
> > wrote:
>
> (snip)
>
>>> I have never in my 45 years of baking used anything other than butter.
>>>
>>> A good old-fashioned Madeira cake made with butter will be moist for
>>> at most 24 hours and after that it seems to requirte 2-3 cups of tea
>>> with each slice!
>>>
>>> I'm fairly certain that some ground up nuts must be one of the keys to
>>> a moist cake (if fruit is not used) - but I am seeking advice from
>>> anyone who can help. So thank you.
>>
>>I should think that in your 45 years of baking you'd have already found
>>recipes for cakes that stay moist.
>>
>>For my money (and baking effort) the cakes that retain the most moisture
>>are either those that contain fruit or those that have been sprinkled
>>with some sort of liquid mixture. Cakes that contain ground nuts are
>>delicious, but contain no more moisture than any other plain cake apart
>>from the oil from the nuts. Likewise, coconut on its own is relatively
>>dry, albeit oily, and won't be appreciably different than one with nuts.
>>
>>Cakes that use vegetable oil instead of butter or solid shortening often
>>have a very moist crumb and stay that way for quite a while. Hershey's
>>Black Magic Cake or Hersghey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate cake are a
>>good examples.
>>
>>http://tinyurl.com/9w8cn
>>
>>One other way is baking a cake that uses a thick and very moist filling
>>between the layers. The cake should also be iced with a good icing that
>>can seal everything against the air. Storage in a completely airtight
>>container is helpful, as is refrigeration or freezing.
>>
>>Just my 2¢
>
> Well thank you very much for your suggestions. I'm afraid I have
> never really been a great cake-baker. Not experimental enough in that
> area I think. I experiment quite a lot with other cooking, but not
> cakes nor what we call biscuits and I think you call cookies, though
> our biscuits are crunchy and crisp. My mother was good with cakes,
> but she generally made them from quite a small selection of very old
> recipes. She could make excellent Victoria sandwich cakes - but we
> had to eat these up fairly quickly I remember! Her Louise cake was
> good - lots of coconut here!
>
> I am looking for cake without icing or filling that one can cut into
> and eat for up to 10 days or so without drying out.
>
> Yes, fruit in cakes makes them moist - as do ground nuts. I have
> eaten a wonderfully moist orange cake that I was told was butterless -
> perhaps oil was used. I have tried to find a recipe like this - so
> far without success.
>
> I have just made a fruit cake and frozen half of it. It will keep
> for a long time because I keep it tight wrapped in foil in an airtight
> container, and if we haven't eaten enough in a week or 10 days I give
> it a good injection of brandy or rum to help it along.
>
> Unfortunately I am allergic to chocolate and cocoa, so cant do them!
>
> Thank you once again. If you or anyone you know has an orange cake
> recipe without butter I'd be glad to know.
You're very welcome...
You might try the following orange cake which uses oil. It originally
called for olive oil! It's actually quite good with the olive oil, but
I've also made it with vegetable oil and that works just as well. It
doesn't have a filling, but it does have an orange syrup that you put over
the cake. You can dispense with the orange "supremes" if you wish, and it
will be just as good.
This cake is so moist that it's almost "wet", and it's really delicious.
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup olive oil (or vegetable oil)
Zest of 1 orange, minced
1 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
SYRUP:
1 orange
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch cake pan, then dust
with sugar and flour. Beat the eggs with the sugar to pale yellow ribbons.
Beat in the milk, oil and orange zest. In a small bowl, sift the flour
with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to
the egg mixture a tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition.
Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 1 hour. Remove cake from
oven, let cool slightly on a rack, then invert and cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare the syrup: Use a sharp paring knife to cut the orange
rind off the orange used for zest and the remaining orange, leaving the
bitter white pith on the orange. Cut the skin into very thin strips and
reserve. Cut away and discard the white pith, remove the orange supremes,
and reserve.
In a large saucepan, combine the orange juice, sugar, and thin orange
strips. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until a thick syrup.
Strain the syrup and reserve the orange strips, along with 1/2 cup of the
syrup. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the top of the cake, then pour the
warm strained syrup all over the cake so that it soaks through.
Place the remaining 1/2 cup syrup in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer
and reduce to a few tablespoons. Use a spatula to spread the thick glaze
over the top of the cake. Place cake on a serving platter, and arrange the
reserved orange strips and orange supremes on top of the cake.
--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________
Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974
---
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 0525-2, 06/22/2005
Tested on: 6/22/2005 9:39:17 PM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2005 ALWIL Software.
http://www.avast.com